A FORMER governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to adjourn indefinitely, the ongoing case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bello also urged the court to vacate its arrest order on him, pending the determination of an appeal he filed at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
These were stated in a letter by his Counsel, Mr. Musa Yakubu, dated July 12 and addressed to the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ahead of his arraignment on Wednesday, July 17.
Bello, who is to face trial for allegedly laundering N80billion in his appeal against, expressed fears over his fate if the case proceeds in Abuja, asking that he instead be tried in Kogi State, where the offence were allegedly committed.
In the appeal, with file number: CA/ABJ/CR/535/2024, Bello is seeking to set aside the warrant of arrest he considers illegally issued against him on April 17, 2024 and also wants a return of the case file to the Federal High Court Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
The appeal filed against the decisions of the trial Federal High Court, Abuja Division, in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024, is also seeking an order of the appellate court to set aside the service of the EFCC charge on him by substituted means, including the entire proceedings already conducted in the case.
In the letter, Bello requested that further proceedings in the charge be adjourned sine die, until the determination of the appeal currently pending at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the National Judicial Council (NJC) in response to a letter to Justice Nwite by the EFCC, dated July 8, 2024 and filed on July 10, 2024, in which the anti-graft agency requested a variation of the earlier warrant of arrest issued against Bello, further requesting that the various security agencies be specifically directed to carry out the earlier arrest.
In response to the application, Yakubu urged the court to decline the request and await the outcome of the appeal pending at the appellate court over the said warrant of arrest and other related pronouncements of the trial court.
He cited the position of the law contained in Order 4 Rule 11(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021 and the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of Vab Petroleum INC V. Momah (Supra), and a litany of other cases.
The letter drew the attention of the trial Judge to a similar case, also a criminal appeal, in which Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos High Court stayed further proceedings in which the appellant had entered an appeal in appeal number CAIL/1159/2023 between Cletus Ibeto V. Federal Republic of Nigeria, challenging the warrant of arrest issued against him in the face of his preliminary objection and the lower court’s jurisdiction to entertain the charge filed by the complainant against him.
